Qualified Co-existence | Chinnajeeyar

Qualified Coexistence

Every responsible citizen of the world must learn to coexist peacefully. It does not matter how different one is from another, everyone must live on the same land and breath the same air. Unless we all learn to co-exist peacefully, we will be missing out on experiencing God’s creation in all its glory.

But, when people have different opinions on various topics, issues, and faiths, how can we ensure peaceful co-existence at all times?

Believing and worshipping one’s own faith system is as important as respecting other people’s belief systems. If your elders have been worshipping Sri Rama, continue to worship Him and seek guidance from elders following the same mode of worship. This is essential for your growth. At the same time, respect others who chose to be inspired by other forms of God or belong to other faiths.

Other systems are more popular than what I inherited; how do I deal with such a situation?

Just because another faith system has immense wealth or popularity, it does not mean that one should lose faith in the system of worship he/she inherited. That would be analogous to choosing someone else’s mother as your mother just because she is prettier or wealthier. Approach a guru and learn about what your faith teaches you. You may become the torchbearer!

God is only one. Why not I worship all?

You pray to Sri Rama to become an ideal human being. The same Rama, whom even devatas (the administrative force of God) also bowed their heads to. You pray to Sri Krishna to understand what bliss means and to understand his divine message, Bhagavad Githa. Each such form of Lord Narayana gives out a divine message.

Vedas say God exists in numerous forms, aja:ya ma:na bahutha: vija:yathe:

Similarly, other faiths may have a different purpose and give a different message. However, if a faith system teaches one to disrespect, hate or destroy other faiths or even try to convert people into their faith, that does not fit into coexistence! Rather, an ideal system teaches others to respect and co-exist with one another.

What we are witnessing today is a planned destruction of deities in various temples. Sri Ramachandra temple at Ramatheertham, Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple at Vagaruru are only a couple of examples of such an inexcusable act.

It’s high time that we follow…
Worship your own, Respect all
స్వీయ ఆరాధన, సర్వ ఆదరణ

Notice the difference between worship and respect. It’s not wise to say you can worship all, because unless you put your energy and focus on a certain path, you cannot move further into it, see the end of it and ultimately reach your goal. To put your energy and focus into it, you must choose to worship one form and respect others.

But, when it comes to living in society, let the positive virtues such as sharing, caring, being patient, loving, supporting, encouraging, honesty, non-greedy nature, collective work, etc. taught by your belief systems work for the well-being of the society.

By ‘Worshipping your own’, you will not miss your growth path from within.
By ‘Respecting all’, you will not fail the society that you are part of.
This is called as qualified co-existence.